Ashley Judd's Response to the Media About her "Puffy Face"

The media’s recent frenzy over Ashleys Judd’s “puffy faced” appearance seemed similar to the countless gossip reports we’ve heard in the past about the way celebrities change or how they choose to dress. But what made these reports a little different was the intelligent and obviously well-thought out response Judd herself made chastising the way media treats and talks about women.

News sources everywhere recently reported about a photo taken of Judd where her face looks a little plumper than usual. And from there, reporters went wild questioning and scrutinizing her appearance, asserting a variety of reasons why she looked a little different like plastic surgery, weight gain, a sinus infection, and more. So-called experts were called on to add their opinions of what type of surgeries she had done and why her cheeks looked plumper than usual.

Judd, who admittedly refrains from reading media about her, says she was urged to take part in the discussion by friends and family. After reading reports everywhere from gossip mags to reputable news outlets, Judd became outraged. She writes, “News outlets with whom I do serious work, such as publishing op-eds about preventing HIV, empowering poor youth worldwide, and conflict mineral mining in Democratic Republic of Congo, all ran this “story” without checking with my office first for verification, or offering me the dignity of the opportunity to comment. It’s an indictment of them that they would even consider the content printable, and that they, too, without using time-honored journalistic standards, would perpetuate with un-edifying delight such blatantly gendered, ageist, and mean-spirited content.”

What do you think about the way the media reported about Ashley Judd’s “puffy face”?

Do you think the way that the media analyzes and perceives a woman’s appearance is disturbing?